Our Love
by HelloMySeattle
Summary: What happened to us?” I choked out. I’d always been sentimental and curious, even in death. “We grew up.” Sasuke said flatly. Somehow, his answer satisfied me. I knew it shouldn’t, but it did.


Hey! This is a fanfic I dreamt up after looking at a photo on deviantart (Team 7: Chasing Cars by *Lady-Hanaka). Ask for the link and I'll send it.

I love comments =D

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the picture this goes with.

I looked up at the trees through weary eyes. My comrades lay beside me, bloody and dying. We had met Sasuke in the forest, a few miles outside of Konoha. He'd attacked us and we had fought. In the end, it didn't matter how hard we fought. We'd all fell. For a brief second, I smiled. Sasuke had gotten his wishes after all. He'd killed his brother, gotten stronger, and severed all friendship ties he had left. In a sick way, I was happy for him. Sasuke had attacked us and won. He'd definitely gotten stronger. Almost too strong. None of Tsundae's training could have prepared me for his level of skill. Not even Jiraiya's training with Naruto seemed to make a difference. Unfortunately, Naruto had received the worst of his rage. He just couldn't seem to go all out on his best friend, regardless of how Sasuke had treated him in the past. In the end, we'd been destroyed by the thing we'd been trying to protect, the thing that we'd been trying to save. I closed my eyes again. Not long before they would close forever I guessed.

Almost my chakra was gone. I couldn't heal myself, let alone my friends. The little chakra I had left was the only thing that sustained me. Once again, I was useless, a thing I hadn't been since my genin days. But, why should I heal myself? Why try? The love of my life had rejected me over and over and what was the point of living without Naruto and Sasuke by my side? Sai would never fill the gap no matter how hard he tried, nor would Ino. There was too tight a bond between us. Besides, we were just two chunin and a missing-nin. Not jounin. We were mere children in the eyes of the village and Sasuke was a violent threat. Almost no tears would be shed for us, certainly not for Sasuke, our dear Sasuke. We were all destined to die, all ninjas are, its part of the job description. Few ninjas live to see they're 30th birthday. It was just a matter of time and by whom we were killed. We all knew this. I personally couldn't think of a better way to die. We'd gone down in a blaze of glory, fighting against our brother. A single tear rolled down my cheek. It stung my burning flesh, seeping into my ragged face. The pain felt like a caressing feather. I guess when you're heart's been shattered multiple times, pain just didn't feel right. I just wasn't fit for a ninja's life, I realized. My parents had been right when they laughed at me when I suggested it. My skin was soft and my nails were always manicured. I cried a lot. I hated killing. Not my best idea, joining the ninja life.

Summoning all my remaining strength, I turned my head to the side, and saw my brothers. At last, they looked peaceful although they were covered in blood and their breathing was shallow. A perfect way to die; surrounded by friends, killed by a friend. No. They were more than friends, _Family. _We were a family. A dysfunctional family no doubt, but we were still a family. We may have not always gotten along and may have tried to kill each other, but we were still a family. I smiled as another tear slid down my ragged skin. Why did I just realize this? These were the people I loved most in this world. These were the people that had stood beside me through thick and thin. These were the people I would die to protect. These are the people I wanted to spend my dying breath surrounded by. Ironic. We _are_ sharing our dying breaths. Together at last. My heart gave a painful thump against my ribs.

_**To love is to destroy.**_ I had read that in a book once. All in all, our love had destroyed us. Sasuke's love for fighting and revenge had destroyed him. Naruto and my love for that boy, no I guess he was a man now, had been our destroyer. Now we would die from our love. I opened my emerald eyes and saw the forest above me. I'd always loved the forest. It was so peaceful and serene. It had also reminded me of the Uchiha, so dark and mysterious. This is where we'd trained, under the cover of the great trees. What a place to die. I felt my heart beat again. The beat was slow and dying. Not long now. I was surprised that something so broken could beat so strongly. Not for long. It looks like the tape had finally come apart. I closed my eyes as a breeze wafted through the trees. With it came a jumble of odd feelings. I wanted to cry. To laugh. To scream. To hold my friends. Emotions coursed through me. Joy. Fear. Happiness. Apathy. All rolled into one super-emotion. Each emotion fought for dominance, but I didn't care or try to control it. No point anyway. They would fade soon enough.

Death would be a sweet release. I'd heard stories about dying. I liked to thing that it was like falling asleep. I grimaced. I suddenly wished I'd fallen into a fissure or a river. Sooner or later, some poor genin or chunin team will come through and find us, all broken and bloody, and bring us to the village. Tears would be shed and our names would be inscribed onto the memorial, to be remembered, except for maybe Sasuke. I hoped that that wouldn't happen. That mustn't happen. As petty as it seemed, I wanted up to be close, even in death. Even if the closeness was only through our names, I would be content.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke called softly. His once deep, dreamy, velvety voice was reduced to a ragged, pained whisper.

"We forgive you. For everything. We love you." Naruto gasped back. He would die first. You could hear it in his voice.

I used to think that Naruto couldn't die. He was always so full of life and life. He was like the sun. Always shining and bringing happiness to those around him. Love can destroy so much in so little time.

A memory flashed in my head; a pink haired, 15-year-old girl crying on her bed, an old team photo clutched to her chest. That's right. I must have spent an equivalent of weeks crying over him.

Crying over the boy that broke my heart.

Crying over the boy who left and never came back.

Crying over the boy who could never love anything but himself.

Crying over the boy who'd broken them.

Crying over the _man_ whose love had destroyed them.

"What happened to us?" I choked out. I'd always been sentimental and curious, even in death.

"We grew up." Sasuke said flatly. Somehow, his answer satisfied me. I knew it shouldn't, but it did.

My eyes shot open. Pain. Pain of loss and broken body. This was no ordinary pain. It felt like the Rasengan and the Chidori were being used on me over and over. This wasn't like usual pain. This was more intense, fierier.

"Sasuke, Naruto, my brothers, my family. I'm sorry. I love you both." I strangled out.

My heart fluttered violently. The pain ended like it had never been. A warm blanket of calm settled over me. I felt warm all over, like I was lying in a tub of water or in my feathery bed. A memory came to me. A long ago summer, three genin lying in the grass under a canopy of trees. We were happy, together. I smiled and closed my eyes for the last time. My last memory was a happy one of a happy time.

_We'll do it all, everything, on our own  
We don't need anything or anyone_

_If I lay here  
If I just lay here  
Would you lie with me  
And just forget the world_

_I don't quite know how to say how I feel  
Those three words are said too much  
They're not enough_

_If I lay here  
If I just lay here  
Would you lie with me  
And just forget the world  
Forget what we're told  
Before we get too old  
Show me a garden that's bursting into life_

_Let's waste time  
Chasing cars  
Around our heads  
I need your grace  
to remind me  
to find my own_

_If I lay here  
If I just lay here  
Would you lie with me  
And just forget the world  
Forget what we're told  
Before we get too old  
Show me a garden that's bursting into life_

_All that I am  
All that I ever was  
Is here in your perfect eyes  
They're all I can see  
I don't know where  
Confused about how as well  
I just know that these things  
Will never change for us at all_

_If I lay here  
If I just lay here  
Would you lie with me  
And just forget the world_


End file.
